Palm Springs Film Festival returns for #26

The Palm Springs International Film Festival is gearing up for their 26th annual shindig, Jan. 2-12, 2015. I’ve decided it’s about time to see what I’ve been missing—quite a lot, it would appear, especially if you’re as interested in foreign films as I am.

The Festival will screen 50 of the 83 submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, offering some of the strongest entries in Oscar race. PSIFF is also spotlighting Central and Eastern European filmmakers with a special program of 20 films titled Eastern Promises, promising the latest from “a mature generation of auteurs who are assuming the mantle of masters.”

The screenings get under way in Palm Springs this Friday with the Golden Globe-nominated civil rights drama “Selma,” directed by Ava Duvernay with David Oyelowo as Dr. Martin Luther King. The US premiere of “Boychoir,” directed by François Girard, is the closing night event on Jan. 11. The festival will present awards to Reese Witherspoon, Richard Linklater, Julianne Moore, Eddie Redmayne, Rosamund Pike and J.K. Simmons at a gala on Jan. 3.

The PSIFF is one of the largest film festivals in North America, with 135,000 attendees last year. For more information, call 760-322-2930 or 800-898-7256 or visit www.psfilmfest.org.